Duralast Axles

I'll be posting this here just for record keeping in case anyone wonders about these axles and fitment/longevity sometime in the future. My OEM Toyota axles have been holding up fantastic to frequent off road trips, rock crawling, and towing. I'm on a 3" lift and 37's, I did not do a diff drop but my boots have not torn or pulled away or anything.

I had seen NAPA offer HD axles with enhanced articulation and saw that Rock Auto and Autozone carried same or similar axles with the same description, since I don't have a NAPA close to me, and Autozones are on nearly every block, I opted to purchase a set of Autozone axles as I figured they would be easier to source and exchange under warranty when the inevitable happens. They are Part No. B16187N in case anyone is interested in looking them up.

The Duralast claim to have 40% more articulation than stock, come with neoprene boots and are intended for lifted vehicles or long travel so I figure I'll give them a shot. Simply having more articulation isn't going to be the end of it, who's to say these axles will be able to handle repeated drivetrain shock from rock bouncing and on/off traction that is frequent off-road.

You can see in the photos the Duralast axles have a stepped midshaft that is considerably thicker than the OEM unit, but the hubs that house the races, bearings and all are actually smaller overall. So time will tell if these are going to hold up to the abuse. So now I have a good pair of OEM axles as my trail spares and in the event of a break I'll switch them out and exchange them.

I'll follow up on this thread to post results and outcomes over the next several months in case anyone wonders.

 

Imho no thing holds up better than thr oem axels. No sure about lifted trucks but with oem lift the oem axels are the best.

Now before the oem cv's go baf just get the rebuild kit off Toyota and rebuild them. They are amazingly well made.

 

Oh yeah, he’s well aware

 

I run this axle style on my first gen. I'm sure different part number but exact same design. Got mine from rockauto. They were $121 a piece. After about 5,000 miles still seem alright. Time will tell. Kept my OEM axles though in case I decide to go with CVJ remans later on.

 

From what I understand, the parts store axles that advertise more articulation use smaller, inferior(?) ball bearings. Some might call it a trade off, but I'll stay with OEM.

With my first gen, you can find OEM remanufactured axles for $75-$80 plus $75 core charge (refundable) if you find the right dealership. When I break a CV axle, I just return it to Toyota as a core and replace it with a remanufactured one.

Same thing seems to be the case for the 07-21 trucks. Here is the reman part number for 2nd gen CV axles. 43430-0C040-84.

McGeorge sells them for $107 plus core charge. Find a local dealer that sells them at a similar price and walk in your core returns rather than pay to ship them: https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota....anufactured-shaft-assembly-front-434300c04084

 

When I did my axles I don't know if anyone had found out (or maybe they weren't doing it yet) that Toyota had remanufactured axles for sale. I may go that route one day.

 

Yeah, I don't think Toyota always offered these. I found out about them awhile back after I had already shelled out $500 for a new one. I've touched two of these remanufactured CVs (one is currently installed) and they obviously re-used and painted the shaft --but the tulips (and presumably the cv joints themselves) were brand new and the same design as what came on the truck as factory. Just as bulky.

 

great info and thank you for sharing the part number. I’ll keep this in mind if in the future I decide to switch back to OEM’s.

 

You might’ve missed the part where I kept my good OEM axles as trail spares so when these do break, I won’t be stranded. Also not sure what “savings” you’re talking about. Rest assured I’ll run these axles as hard as I can and share what their breaking point is for the forum to know.

 

I agree they OEM would be better, no doubt about that. I guess I am coming into this with the mentality that any axle is going to eventually break on me, and I rather go with an axle that will be easy and fast to exchange for a new one.

And I agree that swapping an axle trail -side is not on my list of things I want to do, it’s a fast job to swap them out, at least for me, so I don’t mind the risk.

I just ran Gold Bar in Moab this weekend with the Duralast and they performed normal, so their first trip out was solid.

 

Hi @beehivetundra, just wanted to see how the Duralast CV Axles are holding up for you so far? Just asking as my originals that came with my 2014 Tundra SR5 are now leaking and I'm looking to replace them. I wanted to see if you still recommend the Duralast or if you had any issues with them? Any info is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

@TundraAllDay I am curious about this as well. I have 150k on my OEM CV axels and they are starting to leak.

 

By the way, I know OEM's are better. But the Toyota dealers near me here in Arizona are all telling me there are over 1000 of these CV Axles on back order and they have no ETA on when they will get them in. This is why I'm looking at none OEM's for the time being. They are offering to rebuild mine, but the price is ridiculous, $1300/Axle+TAX just to replace the boots.

 

It’s no fun to remove and replace the grease/boots, surprised the dealer would even offer to. You can get it done cheaper, not sure what they charge to remove and install the axles because I remove and install mine, but it was $40ish per boot to grease and replace last time. That was almost 2 years ago though, might be more now.

https://phoenixrackandaxle.com/home-driveshaft/

 

Hey, no issues to report so far. I’ve taken them on multiple trips to Moab, as well as local trails here. Most trails I run are around a 6-7 rating so they’re not plain dirt roads.
So far no boot separation or snapping any. They don’t bind up either. They’re probably not as strong as OEM as discussed earlier in this thread, but I’ve not met their limits yet. That said, I am pretty aware of how a CV can break and I am conscious to not bounce in the rocks under load or heavy throttle etc. but I took that same care with my OEM axles and they don’t leak or tore either.

 

Awesome, thank you so much for your response. I already picked some up today from my local Auto Zone and I'm going to have them install later today hopefully. I'm going to keep my OEM's and try to get the boots replaced at a local shop and see if I can find someone that can do them for a reasonable price. Otherwise, I will attempted to replace them myself .

@Vizsla, I think the reason why the Toyota dealership near me is offering to replace the boots, it's because the full CV Axle replacement is on back order with no ETA. They figure they can still make money while they wait until the full CV Axle becomes available again.

Is there a good place to buy the boots and clamps for the OEM CV Axles?

Thank you again for all the responses, much appreciated.

 

You can get the OEM rebuild kit from a dealer using P/N

$53 04427-0C020 Toyota Genuine Parts - Boot Kit, Fr Drive S (04427-0C020)

04427-0C020. It should come with boots, grease, and clamps for ~$40 a side. Wear gloves.

 

@TundraAllDay I see that it has been a month since you got these Axles, how are they? I'm having a supply chain issue on getting the OEM ones as well so I'm looking into these.

 

@simpyson I got mine installed yes. So far they are very good. Mind you, my truck is lifted 3 inches in the front. I don't do much off roading though. But so far so good. Time will tell once the Arizona summer comes back next year. I will report back if they fail on me. I hope that helps. Cheers.

 

Just wanted to give an update. Today when I got home this afternoon, I noticed wet grease all over the wheel housing of my front tires. I looked at my axle boots and what do you know. Both sides are open about 2 inches and leaking. I'm so pissed man. These damn things didn't even last me 5 months. Now I'm debating if I should get them replaced with the same ones or get better ones that are meant for lifted trucks. Such a bummer man smh.

 

Doesn’t Duralast offer free replacements for life? If so replace them until you can get some OEM

 

@Orions Dad, yes they do. But I don't have the tools to do this myself, so now I have to pay someone yet again to replace them for me. They only lasted 4 months for me and I only drive in the city with them. Haven't even gone off roading yet. I'm going to take them to lifted trucks here in my area and get them to install a differential with the new ones I will get to see if that will make them last longer. If this doesn't work. Then I'm going to get the OEM's and see how that works. I will report back with updates again.

 

Bummed to see your part fail so quickly driving on roads @TundraAllDay I had an oem cv boot fail on me in June of last year driving over a mild off road mountain pass. Nothing crazy like rock crawling at all. Just rutted out and a lot of shale. At the time I wasn't able to source a oem part quickly I also replaced with a duralast cv axel. I've since had no issues.

However, I'm barely lifted at all on my 5100's on the middle setting. I'm wondering if they don't articulate as well even though that's they way they are marketed. Hopefully you get your issues sorted out.

 

replace with OEM, take the duralast in for replacements and keep 'em on board for trail replacement if needed

 

@OldGuy03, it does suck. But I'm thinking this might have been done by Toyota. I took my truck in on Wednesday so they can check my TPMS light as I couldn't get it to go away. I think they might have ruined the CV boots when they lifted the truck on the car lift. Unfortunately, I didn't think to check the CV boots when I picked up the truck. I only found out about it the following day. Not sure if lifting the truck on those service lifts would do this, but that's the only thing I can think of at this point.

@grave , I ordered the OEM's today from Toyota. They cost me $1121 for both sides. They are on back order and they have no ETA for them. Apparently they are having a lot of issues with parts these days and a lot of parts are on back order with no ETA. In the mean time, I will keep getting the Duralast replacements until I get the OEM's. When I get the OEM's, I will keep the Duralast as backups as you said. I will have to learn how to replace them myself to save some money. I can't keep paying someone to replace them for me every few months.

@beehivetundra , how have yours been holding up so far?

 

Maybe search some junkyards

 

Where you located? I’ve got some OEMs (used of course) laying around.

 

@Orions Dad , good idea. I will have to look at that option. Thank you.

@Cruzer , I'm in Surprise Arizona.

 

You should go to Parker, AZ for the TundrasToSedona.com event next week. I’ll be driving down and will bring you 2 used OEM axles.

 

Exactly why I love this group. Take care of each other and keep on keeping on...
amazing.